No one has signed up for the Ritchie Ranch rockhunt tomorrow, or the South Larremore Ranch rockhunt this Saturday, 12/9/17, so I’ve cancelled the hunts. It’s also snowing, with about a 5″ accumulation so far, so we wouldn’t be able to see the rocks on the ground anyhow.

Tomorrow I’ll take a look at the weather in Terlingua and see if we can still try for East Needle Peak on Sunday. I’ll post my information here.

Below is a schedule of rockhunts for Thanksgiving week and December, 2017.

Please email me at agatehunter@sbcglobal.net if you wish to sign up. If no one has signed up for a rockhunt 48 hours before it is to start, it will be cancelled, and can’t be “uncancelled”.

All rockhunts start at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine. Note that not all rockhunts start at the same time in the morning. Those that are farther away from Alpine begin earlier, so we’ll still get in a full day’s rockhunting even after traveling.

Another requirement for my trips is that you need to join the Rollin’ Rock Club. Membership is $10 for a single person, $16 for a couple, and the membership will run throughout 2018.

For information about the different rockhunting sites and photos of what can be found, please look at the “locations” section under the “For Rockhunters” tab on my website, www.terismithrockhunts.com.

East Needle Peak Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Cost: $40 per person, cash or check. No credit cards.
Details: About 100 miles south of Alpine. High clearance vehicle required, 4wd recommended. Some hiking and climbing required to reach agate areas. Finds can include agate, jasper, flint, quartz crystals, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and aquatic fossils. No collecting of live plants.

Ritchie Ranch Start Time: 9:00 a.m.
Cost: $10 entrance fee per person and $1 per lb. for the agate you take. Cash or check, no credit cards.
Details: Extremely close to Alpine. Accessible in most vehicles. Terrain is rolling hills: very little climbing involved. Great for families with kids, new rockhounds, or those with limited mobility. Finds can include agate, jasper, and quartz crystals. No collecting of live plants.

Singleton Ranch Start Time: 8:00 a.m.
Cost: $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments). Cash only.
Details: About 25 miles south of Marfa (50 miles from Alpine). Four major hunting locations on one ranch. Terrain goes from flat to rolling hills. Two locations accessible by passenger car, but high clearance vehicle recommended. The other two require high clearance vehicles, and 4wd recommended. All areas are accessible by those with limited mobility. Finds can include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, calcite and aragonite. No collecting of Native American artifacts or live plants.

South Larremore Ranch Start Time: 8:00 a.m.
Cost: $40 per person if I lead the trip, and $50 per person if Jean Larremore leads the trip. Trips marked with an asterisk (*) are led by Jean Larremore. Cash or check, no credit cards.
Details: About 40 miles south of Alpine. Terrain in many areas is flat, but hunting in the creek beds can be steep and difficult. Some areas accessible by passenger car, but high clearance vehicle is recommended. Finds include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, flint, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and an occasional fossil.

Stillwell Ranch Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Cost: No entrance fee, 50¢ per lb. for what you take.
Details: About 45 miles south of Marathon, which is 30 miles east of Alpine. Roads rough in many places. High clearance vehicle recommended. Finds include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, flint, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and an occasional fossil.

Jean Larremore will indeed lead trips to on her ranch on Tuesday, October 18 and Tuesday October 25.

This last week, I’ve been on the South Larremore Ranch, the Ritchie Ranch, and the Singleton Ranch. There’s lots of new agate visible on all three ranches. We’ve had lots of rain in the last few months, and that’s at least partly responsible for uncovering new pieces.

At the South Larremore Ranch, there were a few muddy spots in the creek bottom, but very few puddles (and all of them were small enough to really call puddles). The mud at the crossing was too deep and sloppy to attempt the crossing in a car, but we walked across it (after I slipped and fell on my butt, of course). By the time the day was over, Brian Larremore had used the tractor and made the crossing good enough that we would have been able to drive it. However, since then it has rained for two solid days here in Alpine, and I have no idea how much rain they got down there.

On the big Fall hunts schedule, I got two of the starting times wrong. They are corrected below:

November

Th

17

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 7 a.m.

December

S

24

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Or, to put it another way, the starting times for all Fall field trips will be:

East Needle Peak and Stillwell Ranch: 7 a.m.

Singleton Ranch, and South Larremore Ranch: 8 a.m.

Ritchie Ranch: 9 a.m.

The Larremore Ranch and the South Larremore Ranch mentioned in the field trip list are the same place. But the South Larremore Ranch is not the same as the old Larremore Ranch that we hunted back in about 2006. The South Larremore Ranch is very productive with lots of unusual agates in addition to those similar to the Alpine agates and the agates from the Needle Peak area. If this is confusing, just remember that all the Larremore ranch field trips on the Fall schedule are to the same wonderful ranch.

I neglected to mention in the email that, if no one has signed up for a field trip a week before the date of the trip, the trip will be cancelled. I know this makes it difficult for people who make last-minute trips to the Big Bend, but in previous years I spent a lot of time preparing for field tips just in case someone wanted to attend who hadn’t signed up. My schedule this year is too tight to allow me to do that.

Thank you all for bearing with me. I’ve only been doing this for 15 years or so. I should know what to put in an email by now!

The big schedule below covers scheduled rockhunts for September through December, 2016.

September, 2016

F

16

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

17

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

20

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

W

21

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

22

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

23

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

24

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

25

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

26

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

October, 2016

Th

6

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

15

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Su

16

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

M

17

Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

18

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

19

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

20

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

25

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

26

Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

27

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

28

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

29

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

Su

30

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

M

31

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 7 a.m.

November, 2016

W

9

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

10

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

11

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

12

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

13

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

14

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

Tu

15

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

16

S. Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

17

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

20

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

M

21

S. Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

22

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

W

23

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

24

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

December, 2016

Tu

6

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

7

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

8

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

15

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

16

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

17

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

18

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

19

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

20

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

21

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Th

22

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

23

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

S

24

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

25

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

26

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

27

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

28

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Th

29

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

30

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

31

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

The prices for the ranches are unchanged from last year: The Ritchie Ranch is $10 entrance fee per person and $1 per lb. for the agate you take; the South Larremore Ranch is $40 per person if I take you, and $50 per person if Jean or Brian Larremore take you; the Singleton Ranch is $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments), and East Needle Peak is $40 per person. On all of these ranches, kids under 12 hunt free, but their rocks count in the total you pay for. The Stillwell Ranch has no admission fee and charges 50 cents per pound for good rocks. The price for the Rollin’ Rock club membership, which is required for my hunts, is also unchanged at $10 per calendar year for a single membership and $16 per calendar year for a dual membership. And the price for my guide services is still the same: free, but you can give me a gratuity if you feel so inclined.

All trips begin in front of the office at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90 in Alpine. However, if you’re staying someplace that is closer to the hunt site than Alpine is, let me know and I’ll try to make arrangements to meet you someplace along the route.

Hi Y’all! I’ve gotten lots of responses from rockhunters concerning the schedule in October. Although I had several requests for changes, I had lots of people sign up for most of the trips, so I’ve decided to keep the schedule as it is. I’ll certainly keep your suggestions in mind for the rest of the Fall schedule, which will be coming out in another email very soon.

The prices for the ranches are also unchanged from last year: The Ritchie Ranch is $10 entrance fee and $1 per lb. for the agate you take; the South Larremore Ranch is $40 per person if I take you, and $50 per person if Jean or Brian Larremore take you; the Singleton Ranch is $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments), and East Needle Peak is $40 per person. The Stillwell Ranch has no admission fee and charged 50 cents per pound for good rocks. The price for the Rollin’ Rock club membership, which is required for my hunts, is also unchanged at $10 per calendar year for a single membership and $16 per calendar year for a dual membership. And the price for my guide services is still the same: free, but you can give me a gratuity if you feel so inclined.

So here’s the October schedule, with the addition of starting times. All trips begin in front of the office at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90 in Alpine. However, if you’re staying someplace that is closer to the hunt site than Alpine is, let me know and I’ll try to make arrangements to meet you someplace along the route.

Wow! It’s been almost a month since the April rockhunts, and I’ve been practicing sleeping in late and being incommunicado . But now, in a small flurry of activity, I’m going to send out an email!

I had a great time leading all the spring rockhunts, and I think everyone that attended had a good time as well.

I found some incredible agate, especially at the Singleton Ranch and the South Larremore Ranch. I am very pleased with the variety and quality of agate found at the South Larremore Ranch, and just a little bit puzzled geologically about how it all got there. But the important thing is that it DID get there, and we can find it in reasonable sizes and quantities for cutting and specimens. And there’s still some of that ranch to be explored.

I saw lots of old friends and made some new ones. As usual, we had people fly and drive in from around the United States, including people from Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Oregon, and of course all over Texas. Johnny French brought barbecue for the group and we had a fantastic dinner during the April hunts.

In general, the weather cooperated with us, especially in April. It had rained earlier on the Larremore Ranch, however, which left the usually-not-difficult creek crossing a muddy mess. So, twice, we got all hands on deck with shovels and picks, and fixed the crossing so that all the vehicles on the hunt could get across if they chose to. We also ganged up to pile rocks in holes and fix roads on the Singleton Ranch.

We also took several trips to the Stillwell Ranch. I was really happy with the agate I found, and the petrified wood was excellent. You can hunt the Stillwell Ranch on your own if the weather is cool and the roads are dry, but going on a trip with me means I can probably help you find a good spot to hunt and identify what you’ve found in the field, so you don’t pay for rocks you really don’t want. The fee is very reasonable at 50 cents per pound, and of course I don’t charge anything, so the only big expense is your gas. And the Stillwell Store has ice cream bars and cold drinks for an after-rockhunt treat.

I’ve also relearned some lessons that I used to know. I need to take a day off once a week, so that I can catch up on sleep and laundry. I need to be more clear in my instructions, and I need to have samples and maps for every ranch.

I’m closing up for the summer, and probably won’t have any more field trips til the beginning of October. I’d appreciate input from y’all about the schedule, since I tried to cluster more rockhunts together in the middle of the month rather than running several weekends a month like I had last year. Please let me know whether that worked better for you or not, and how you think I can improve the schedules in the future.

I hope to have time to work on the museum this summer, and on the set of photos I’m displaying in my slide show there. If anyone has some photos of the hunt, or of the material you’ve found, whether rough or processed, and wouldn’t mind having me use them in my slide show, please email them to me. I’ll add your name and a copyright line for you, and they won’t be used for anything except the slide show in my museum.

Lastly, I’ve been trying to contact Paul Bowman, who came out on the April field trips for the first time, and his email address is rejecting new messages. If anyone knows him, please tell him to email me! Thanks!